1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to multifunctional enclosures for medical probes including endoscopes or instruments and methods of using the enclosure including but not limited to: protecting the medical probe during transport, storing and cleaning the medical probe, enclosing and protecting the medical probe during sterilization, and providing a post procedural reservoir for cleaning and/or sterilizing fluid.
2. Background
Medical probes are routinely used for various medical procedures whereby they are inserted into the body and in many cases are equipped with a means to view inside the body. Medical probes are expensive instruments that typically comprise an elongated member that is inserted into the body. These elongated members are usually designed to be flexible to allow for maneuvering and locating the tip at a desired location in the body. The flexibility and length of the elongated members of the medical probe make them difficult to handle. The elongated portions of the medical probe may unintentionally swing and hit object during handling or transport and become damaged or contaminated. Medical probes must be sterilized or disinfected after each use, which requires a considerable amount of handling including transport to a cleaning facility, transport to and handling during sterilization/disinfection, transport to and handling during storage, and finally transport to and handling during medical procedures. After a medical procedure is complete, the contaminated medical probe may pose a contamination risk to the operating room, or other medical room. Body fluids and other body contaminates may drip or fling off of the elongated member of the medical probe, and create a cross contamination risk.
During sterilization/disinfection procedures, the medical probe, or in some cases the elongated member of the medical probe, may be placed into a sterilization/disinfection chamber, such as, steam, ethylene oxide, ozone or the like. Handling of the medical probe during these repetitive procedures introduces possible cross contamination by placing the device directly on surfaces where other devices have previously been located. In addition, these repetitive procedures subject the medical probe to damage, along the length, and especially to the highly sensitive tip of the medical probe.
There exists a need for a multifunctional enclosure for medical probes that can be used to protect the elongated member of the medical probe during transport, storage, cleaning, sterilization, and provide a post procedural reservoir for cleaning and/or sterilizing fluid.